More than 54 percent of total land conversion occurred in the state’s 25 fastest growing counties. During this period (1997-2012), approximately 590,000 acres were lost from the agricultural land base in these counties.

Population Growth

From 1997 to 2012, the Texas population increased from 19 million to 26 million residents, an increase of 36 percent or approximately 500,000 new residents annually. The majority (87 percent) of the population increase occurred within the state’s top 25 highest growth counties.

Land Fragmentation

Average ownership size declined from 581 acres in 1997 to 521 acres in 2012. By the end of 2012, the USDA Census of Agriculture accounted for nearly 249,000 farming and ranching operations in the state, representing a 9 percent increase since the 1997 census.

Explore Land Trends Data

View and compare 15-year trends in land use, market value and other metrics in private lands across Texas.

A Changing Texas

Texas working lands are undergoing a fundamental change, one that has implications for rural economies, national and food security, and conservation of water and other natural resources. Native landscapes are increasingly threatened by suburbanization, rural development and land fragmentation driven by rapid population growth.

Texas Land Facts

From 1997 to 2012

Texas population increase 36%

Total population increase in top 25 fastest growing counties 87%

Total land conversion from top 25 fastest growing counties 54%

Increase in farming and ranching operations 9%

What Does This Mean?

The state’s increasing population, particularly within or in surrounding urban centers, continues to have significant influence on the continued loss of working lands, changing ownership sizes, and land values.

Like more traditional home real estate values, rural land values vary by location, land use, property size, and other characteristics. Changes in land value were closely tied to distance from major metropolitan growth areas. The average land value, for example, within the top 25 fastest growing counties was $5,266 per acre in 2012, compared to the state-wide average of $1,573 per acre.

This report is published every five years, following the availability of the USDA NASS Census of Agriculture data, and serves to describe the status and recent changes in land use, ownership size, and land values of privately owned Texas farms, ranches, and forests, collectively known as working lands.